The present invention relates to a marking for objects painted with an effect paint which contains pigments, wherein the pigments are produced by fragmenting a wiped and cross-linked film and are added to at least one starting paint of a paint coat of the object, to result in a color effect which depends on the viewing angle. The present invention also relates to a process for marking objects to be painted with an effect paint, in which a liquid-crystalline polymer film is wiped onto a smooth base and cross-linked, the film is subsequently detached from the base and fragmented to form pigments which have a color effect depending on the viewing angle, and the pigments are added to a starting paint of the paint coat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,315 (counterpart of Published German Patent Application DE 42 40 743 A1) discloses a process for producing pigments which result in a color effect dependent on the viewing angle. However, this document does not disclose the marking of vehicles with such a paint coat.
Published German Patent Application DE 43 35 308 A1 (counterpart of U.S. Ser. No. 08/324,476, filed Oct. 17, 1994) discloses a marking for vehicles, wherein pigments are arranged in a multi-layer paint coat. Marking is accomplished by applying a code which is either applied to the pigments and/or formed by the pigments themselves. However, according to this method, the application of such a coding to the pigments is costly.
It is an object of the present invention to develop a marking for objects utilizing an effect paint coat such that the marking of the object is simplified. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a process for marking the object.
One of the objects of the present invention is achieved by providing an effect paint comprising pigments which carry a marking which is recognized and which characterizes the object so marked. A further object of the present invention is achieved by a process for painting an object with an effect paint comprising pigments which are provided with a marking having a code, which thereby marks the painted object. As a result of the coding of the pigments which occurs during production, it becomes possible to apply a vehicle-specific marking with a paint coat in a simple manner during production of the pigments. Furthermore, it is possible, as a result of the pigmentation, to provide paint with the correct marking for re-painting or touchup painting.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.